


Rhythm of the Heart

by HopelessRose



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Music
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopelessRose/pseuds/HopelessRose
Summary: Cecelia Hayes, a musician and waitress of a café within wall Rose has a certain temperamental captain show up at her place of work
Relationships: Levi & Special Operations Squad | Squad Levi, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Listen to the Music Flow

**_Summary:_ ** Cecelia Hayes, a musician and waitress of a café within wall Rose has a certain temperamental captain and his squad show up at her place of work.

* * *

**Notes** : the songs I was listening to while Cecelia was fiddling her little heart out were “the ballydesmond polkas” “Belles of tipperary/the star of Munster” and “Merrily kiss the Quaker/Dennis Murphy’s slide" by Máiréad Nesbitt. And the final song was “Téir abhaile riú” by the Celtic woman. I have a love of violin/piano music and folk/acoustic style songs and so does Cecelia. 

* * *

**Chapter 1: Listen to the Music Flow**

* * *

"Celia! You're needed on the stage!" Her boss, Maggie shouted from behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. A small nod was all Maggie received in response. The café was packed full to the brim. It was a cold Friday evening in autumn and, just like every Friday, they had music to bring in more customers. Cecelia Hayes was one of the musicians who doubled as a waitress. She smirked and rolled her emerald green eyes at the table full of gentlemen as they lamented about her having to leave. 

She was a favorite among a lot of patrons of the café. Some came to enjoy the tea, coffee and sweets, while others came to enjoy the waitresses. She found most of the men who flirted with her no more than filthy pigs; but money was tight and said filthy pigs tipped better the more she batted her eyes and played with her long, plaited chestnut colored hair.

Stepping onto the small makeshift stage, she draped her apron over a nearby chair and picked up the violin. She gave a smile as sweet as the cakes they were serving, before starting to play. Another reason the patrons, male and female alike, enjoyed her was her music. They admired the way she danced around the stage on the faster songs, and her slower songs brought tears to their eyes. 

Tonight she was in a fairly good mood and decided to play her more upbeat and energetic songs. Many of the patrons were clapping along to her songs, as she danced around, the skirt of her light blue dress twirling with every movement. As she started her third song she noted a group of four entering,  _ that's a first,  _ she thought _ , usually don't get many military folk here other than my brother.  _ Everyone in the group had the tell tale uniform of the Survey Corps, the wings of freedom plastered on their jackets. They found a recently opened table, remnants from the last patron's meal still scattered upon its surface. One member of the group, a man with brown and oddly pointed hair was seemingly trying to calm down a very angry looking man.

Her songs were anywhere from three to four minutes long so she usually did a set of three or four that flowed together. She hoped that Maggie, or another waitress would go clear that table off. She'd hate to potentially lose out on tips simply because she was on stage, and therefore unable to clear tables as they opened in her section. 

As the tune came to it’s end she noticed that no one was going to help her out. So she decided that only three songs would be done for that set. Giving a small bow she placed the violin back on it's stand. Donning her apron she quickly made her way to that messy table in the back. "My apologies, I can't very well clear a table when I'm on the stage." She said with a small smile as she started clearing the table. One of the men, who had light brown hair styled in an undercut, complimented her music and dancing, saying that it was worth waiting for. As she was gathering the dishes she heard a bit of the group's conversation. Cecelia was always a sucker for eavesdropping, did it get her in trouble? Yeah, but only when she got caught, which wasn't often.

"Eld, what made you think I'd like this shithole establishment where their staff can't even clean tables properly?" The angry looking man with jet black hair grabbed his taller comrade by the shirt collar and pulled him down to his level and glared. 

A blonde man held up his hands in defense. "Sorry captain, I just heard they had the best food in town."

_ So that must be  _ the _ Captain Levi my brother writes to me about then, and I'm assuming the others are his squad _ , she thought while shaking her head. As she walked towards the kitchen, she thought she heard the one referred to as captain asking which idiot told him that. Her brother was in the scouts and always wrote about a certain temperamental captain, but in all his writings, he never mentioned he was so short though. She assumed that this was, in fact, Captain Levi. She wasn't completely sure, but as far as she knew from her brother's letters, he was the only one titled as a captain in the regiment. Her brother, Sean, seemed like a starry-eyed fan of his for some reason. His letters usually contained at least one section of him singing the captain’s praises, all after complaining about his own section commander’s craziness and recklessness with their experiments. 

She dropped the dishes off in the kitchen and quickly went back to wipe down the entirety of the table. She was one of the few waitresses that made sure all areas were spotless, top and bottom. The other girls just made sure the table top was clean, not bothering to check the underside. 

"So what'll it be, gentlemen?" She pulled out a notepad as three of the four men sat at the table, the captain, however, seemed to be inspecting her cleaning job, and after a few moments he decided that it was clean enough and sat down. 

The blonde and two brown haired men ordered a personal favorite of hers, the maple pecan latte. While at its core, the café was just a simple coffee and tea shop with sandwiches and sweets, it also served a few alcoholic variants of the coffees. 

“Would you like a shot of whiskey added to those?” she asked with a smirk, playing with the pale blue ribbon that was securing her hair in its messy braid. The men just shrugged as if saying ‘sure, why the hell not?’ She nodded and wrote their drink order down. “And what would you like, sir?” She turned to the bored looking man who still seemed to be inspecting the table on its cleanliness. 

“I’ll probably just end up with tea-colored piss,” he stated, not looking away from the table. “But get me some black tea anyway.” 

“I assure you we have a very nice black tea blend. Would you like any honey or milk in it?” 

“Tch, what kind of idiot puts that trash in their tea.” 

“Okay then nothing added to the tea, got it. I’ll bring your drinks out shortly.” She smiled her sweetest smile while placing a menu in the center of the table and went to the counter with a spring in her step. 

The girl working the counter laughed as she saw Cecelia bouncing up to hand her the order slip. “How is it you still have so much energy after dancing around like that, Celia?” 

“I can't tell you, Maya, it's a secret!” she whispered and held a finger to her lips. The girl just shook her head in response, causing her blond curls to sway. Maya started working on making the beverages.

One of the younger girls suddenly came out from behind the kitchen, pulling her lilac colored kerchief from her hair to around her neck, her red hair was even messier than usual from the motion. “CeeCee! Are those members of the Survey Corps over there?” her blue eyes shined with adoration. Saying that Cecilia’s best friend, Talia, was a fan of the Survey Corps was an understatement. She adored the Corps and didn’t let anyone talk down on them. She always watched them when they were going to and from expeditions and berated those who claimed that they were a waste of taxes.

“I don’t know, maybe they jumped some scouts on their way over and stole their uniforms,” Celia snorted sarcastically. “You know, you never get this excited when my brother comes in - he’s also in the Corps.” 

Talia sputtered a bit. “Yeah, but he’s also your lame brother, he’s not as amazing as they are,” she pointed at the table recognizing who they were. “That's the Levi Squad! They’re the best of the best! There’s a good reason Captain Levi is called ‘Humanity’s Strongest,’ it’s because he’s so amazing!” The starry eyed look intensified.

A funny idea came to Celia’s mind: she was tempted to send Tali over with their drinks, but felt that the captain’s piss-poor attitude would most likely break the girl’s heart. They said you should never meet your heroes, right? 

Maya placed a tray down between the two. “Talia, stop gushing over the scouts and get back to work. We have orders that need to be made!” 

Talia pouted and put her kerchief back on her head before going back into the kitchen. 

Cecelia took the tray and started heading back to the table, the captain had some paperwork in front of him and was rapping a pen against the table, leaning his head against his left hand. The blonde one was timidly lecturing the bored looking man. “We came here so you could get your mind off of work and relax, not so you could do more work.” 

“No, you dragged me out here to have a - what did you call it? - a ‘guys night out,’ which I didn’t necessarily agree to. You three just pulled me along to this crowded and noisy place,” he paused gesturing to the stage where a group of girls were singing. “Two things I don’t particularly care for.” 

She held the tray in her right arm and started passing the drinks out. The brunette, who was so obviously trying to emulate his captain, clicked his tongue and said, “if you don’t want to be here then leave.” 

The men thanked her for the drinks and she lingered around just to see a reaction to the so-called ‘piss water.’ _That is the weirdest way I’ve ever seen anyone hold a cup,_ she thought as he took a drink. He didn’t spit it out or make a face of disgust, so it seemed the tea was acceptable. She offered to take orders for food to which the gent with the pointed brown hair said, “We’ll be lucky if he’ll stay long enough to finish the tea, so I think we will politely decline.” She nodded and smiled. 

Cecelia got called back up on the stage, some of the other performers liked to implement her fiddling in their songs. She was the only waitress that doubled as entertainment, the other performers were just that - performers. Sighing, she removed her apron once again. The quartet of girls smiled and told her what song to play. 

She began playing and the girls sang and started dancing.

Celia played more of her violin in the back of the stage, letting the girls take the spotlight. 

After the first verse and chorus, it was her turn to shine. She played and danced in the forefront, deciding to actually jump off the stage and play within the crowd, shooting playful winks around at the men. Then the girls continued singing 

Once more she fiddled and danced around. Three of the four men at that back table were watching the performance, the fourth seemed to be grumbling about something or other. He placed some money on the table and made a swift exit. His comrades quickly followed, the blonde one nodding his head and giving a small, apologetic smile. 

She made a note to write to her brother about her encounter with the captain later, and wondered if more military members would start showing their faces around the café. Somehow, she had a feeling her brother was the one who suggested it to the captain’s squad.


	2. I'll think of You as I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecelia's brother and some other scouts show up at the cafe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some other Scouts make an appearance in this chapter. Once again inspired by music, not so much folk song or violin but acoustic? A capella? Yeah one of those. Song is “I’ll think of you" by Youtuber Kurt Hugo Schneider. 
> 
> Sorry for lack of updating, I've had this being worked on since I did the first chapter just between my working and my beta reader poofing in and out of existence it took a little longer than planned for those still interested my fic lol 

* * *

**Chapter 2: I will think of you as I go**

* * *

The cold autumn air blew harshly as Cecelia was leaving her apartment. Autumn was coming to an end and winter was just around the corner. She detested winter, it was too cold and dreary for her liking. She preferred the not quite hot, but not quite cold days of spring or autumn. The only positive thing about winter was that the Survey Corps expeditions were put on hiatus, meaning she got more time with her brother. She tugged on her rose colored shawl to protect herself from the wind. 

As she was working her way to the café for her afternoon shift, she thought about the past few weeks since her encounter with the captain and his squad. The other three started showing up almost every Friday for a ‘guys night’ and she had gotten to know them a little bit more during their visits.

The initial guys’ night was an attempt to celebrate Eld's engagement. The second outing was the same as the first. The captain stayed a little longer and didn’t seem as agitated on the third attempt to celebrate his comrade’s engagement. She had a theory that it was because it wasn’t a Friday night, and therefore the café was less crowded and noisy. 

As she entered the café, the few patrons and staff greeted her. She waved and smiled in response as she hung her shawl up and donned her apron. Monday afternoons were slow so she wasn’t really expecting much for her shift. 

Talia came out from the kitchen and started laughing. “The wind really did a number on your hair CeeCee!” 

Cecelia tried to straighten out her hair as best she could. She only plaited it on Fridays, every other day she pulled half of it up and secured it with a ribbon. “You’re one to talk Tali, your hair is always a mess!” Cecelia said sticking her tongue out at her. 

Talia stuck her own tongue out after she was done laughing. “That may be true, but I don’t deal with the customers directly so mine doesn’t need to look good. I go for practicality and comfort over appearance.” 

Cecelia rolled her eyes and went to ask Maggie which section she had for the afternoon. 

She hated working Monday afternoons simply because of how slow and boring they were. The first half of her shift was spent just trying to find things to make her look busy. She cleaned all the tables in her section until they were spotless, she helped roll up silverware, and helped clean and reorganize the display case full of sweets. After that, she ran out of things to do and just sat at the counter and waited for customers. 

A man’s voice came from behind her. “Should I tell Maggie you’re slacking?” 

Cecelia turned around and wrinkled her nose. “Sean, don’t you have something better to do than pick on me?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry I wanted to come see my sister for a little bit.” His hand ruffled up Cecilia’s hair, despite her attempts to swat it away. 

She turned and gave the sandy haired man a hug. “I’ve missed you, Sean. You’ve been staying safe, right?” 

“As safe as I can be, those titans like going for the handsome fellas more than anyone else,” he shrugged. 

“Then you’re the safest member of the Survey Corps,” Cecelia said with a chuckle. Their hug ended with Sean giving her a light smack on her head. 

“Oi, Maggie! Can I borrow my sister for a little while?” Sean called out towards the back room. 

“I see no harm in that, the place is practically deserted anyway. As soon as customers come in she’s going back to work!” 

“Yes ma’am!” 

The siblings sat at a table towards the back after Cecelia made them each a cup of tea. “So how have things been? You haven’t been writing me!” Cecelia whined as she added honey to her tea. 

“My squad leader keeps me busy at all times. I was lucky to sneak here to see you on my off day.” Sean let out a sigh and pulled an envelope out of his jacket. “I haven’t even had time to read your last letter.” 

Sure enough, it was still sealed. Cecelia shook her head. “I thought you knew how to stand up for yourself and say no. Father would be disappointed.” 

“You haven’t met Section-Commander Hange. Hard to say no to that one, simply because you can’t get a single word in.” He opened the letter and skimmed it. “So the Levi Squad came here? I see you’re accusing me of being the one who suggested it, but no ma’am, that wasn’t me.” 

“So you didn’t think it’d be funny for me to have to deal with that grumpy captain?” Cecelia smirked. 

“Oh, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying I wasn’t the one who suggested it. Mom always told us not to play pranks on each other, right?” 

“That didn’t stop you when we were kids and I doubt it’ll stop you now.” 

“I’ve matured since then. I’m sure mom would have wanted us to get along instead of bickering like we used to, so I’m trying to honor that. How’s Garrett doing anyways? Is he still a strict, grumpy old man?” 

“He’s doing fine. I haven’t spoken to him in almost a month, but last time I checked in on him he was as unreasonable as ever.” She sighed and ran her finger around the rim of her cup. “He asked if his ‘disappointment of a son’ joined a _real_ military branch, or if he’s ‘still being suicidal.’” Sean rolled his eyes at the comment. “Yelled at me saying a young lady such as myself should be settled down already, or at least still living with him. He also told me to give up on my music, saying I was no better than a whore in the brothels the way I flirt and dance. ” 

Sean rubbed the back of his head nervously. “As much as I hate to agree with Garrett, he’s got a point. Your dancing and flirting could be taken the wrong way and put you in a dangerous spot. Do you even know how to defend yourself?” 

“Yell for help?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. 

Sean pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “What if a man were to grab you and cover your mouth so you couldn’t yell?” 

Cecelia just shrugged her shoulders, she never really heard about it happening to anyone around the area, so she wasn’t extremely concerned about it. 

Sean motioned for her to stand up and she obliged. “Your badass big brother is gonna teach you some basic self defense, okay?” 

As he readied himself for the demonstration, the bell by the door rang to signal a customer. “Oh wow, this place is nice!” a voice said as they entered. 

Sean visibly tensed at the sound and hid behind his much shorter sister. “Oh no they found me, I don’t know how, but they found me!” Cecelia had no clue what the big deal was, she was just confused as to why her brother thought hiding behind _her_ was the smartest route. 

“Hayes, you know that waitress is about a foot shorter than you, right? It hurts that you’re trying to hide from me. ” The patron, with messy brown hair and glasses, laughed as they walked over. 

Sean straightened up and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, while Cecelia was almost doubled over with laughter. “So what happened to my ‘badass big brother’?” 

The customer gave a huge smile and their eyes shone. “Hayes! Is this the sister you always ramble on about?” Cecelia’s hands were suddenly grabbed by the customer. “I’m Section-Commander Hange Zoë!” Cecelia attempted to make an introduction but was cut off. “Don’t bother introducing yourself, Hayes here has basically done that himself! I hear you’re amazing with a fiddle and you're quick as a whip with your comebacks.” 

Cecelia could kind of see what Sean meant about not being able to get a word in. “Yeah, I’m his sister. I didn’t think that Sean talked about me that much.” 

“All the time, kiddo! All good things, I assure you.” They circled around Cecelia like a vulture. “For siblings, you two don’t look alike,” they mused. 

“I took after our father and Sean here took after our mom,” she responded with a shrug. “I’m assuming you took after a vulture with the way you’re circling me.” 

Hange laughed and once more the bell by the door rang. Two more customers entered. “Section-Commander! You mustn’t run off like that!” a girl with reddish brown hair scolded. 

A girl with strawberry blonde hair laughed and rested her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “Nifa, it’s fine we knew where Hange was going.” 

“Petra, they’re a section commander and shouldn’t be running off like that,” Nifa huffed. 

Cecelia offered the three a table and asked them for their drink and food orders. Meanwhile Sean went to sit at the counter. 

As Cecelia came to hand off the order slip to Maya, she nudged her brother. “So you talk about me all the time?” 

“Hange exaggerates. I do talk about you, but not all the time. Anyway, what time are you done working tonight? I was being serious about teaching you basic self defense.” 

“I’ll be done at eight o' clock,” she sighed. Maya placed a tray with drinks on the counter. 

“Okay, I’ll be back around then to walk you home.” Sean gave her a hug and made his exit. 

Cecelia picked up the tray and returned to the only occupied table in the café. Handing out the drinks, she hummed a tune their mother used to sing. Nifa and Petra smiled at the humming. 

“That’s a nice sounding melody,” Petra said.

“That’s one of the songs Sean sings sometimes, I think. Sounds prettier coming out of you, though. Your brother sounds like a stray cat in heat,” Nifa said as she blew on her tea. 

“Yeah, I got all the musical talent in the family. I didn’t think Sean would sing around people.” 

“He doesn’t do it often, mostly because Nifa and Keiji make fun of him when he does,” Hange chuckled. Maya called out that their food was ready. 

“So how is he doing? He just gave me a generic ‘I’ve been as safe as I can be’ when I asked earlier,” Cecelia said as she gave them their cakes and pies. 

“Oh, he’s doing fine, kiddo. His idiotic tendencies only apply off the field. Out past the walls he’s pretty careful and uses his head. You have nothing to worry about!” Hange reassured, waving their hand. 

“You’re not gonna tell her about the latest experiment fiasco?” Nifa laughed. 

“Of course not! I don’t want this poor girl to worry more than she has to!” 

Cecelia cocked her head to the side. “Fiasco? What happened?” 

Petra sighed and warned Cecelia to get comfortable because she could be there for a while. 

Almost an hour and a half passed before Hange finished explaining the experiments and what went wrong. After the explanation, she was more concerned with what her brother did _inside_ the walls as opposed to outside. He never really went into as much detail about the experiments in his letters and now she knew why. 

Nifa pointed out that Hange kept her from work for almost two hours and that their sweets were long finished. 

“Sorry! I get carried away when talking about my experiments!” Hange apologized, clasping their hands in front of their face and bowing slightly. 

“It’s fine. It’s a Monday so we’re never too busy!” Cecelia reassured as she cleared the plates. 

“Is there any chance I can get an apple pie to go? That was delicious! I’m sure the guys would like some too,” Petra asked with a shy smile. 

“It will take a while to make, but it's doable if you don’t mind hanging around longer.” Cecelia wrote down the order and offered to refill their tea once more. The four sat and talked until the pie was finished.

"So I'm assuming 'the guys' are your squad mates?" 

"Yeah! I'm a member of the Levi Squad," Petra smiled brightly. 

"Oh, so you deal with humanity's grumpiest all day? Must be a real pain in the rear," Cecelia chuckled. 

Hange snorted with laughter, "I'm guessing you've met him, then?" 

"Yeah, the rest of the Levi squad came in a couple of times. They were having an attempt at celebrating Eld's engagement. Took about three tries during the past three weeks to get captain crabby to stay more than ten minutes." 

Hange seemed to be enjoying Cecelia’s nicknames for him and added 'captain clean' to the list among others. After the back and forth of nicknames Hange and Nifa decided to get up and peruse over the sweets in the display, seeing if there might be other goodies the rest of their squad might enjoy.

Petra's face went from smiling to a frown. "He's not that bad of a guy you know." 

"I don't see how someone as nice, polite, and positive as you can handle him on a daily basis. You must have the patience of a saint," Cecelia mused. 

"He's a great guy. Sure, he doesn't exactly have a way with words, but he's actually compassionate in his own weird way. He just doesn't always know how to show that he cares. It's all his little oddities that make him so amazing, not his strength or bravery."

"So you're saying he has a soft center under that hard crotchety outer shell?" Cecelia tilted her head in thought. 

"I guess that's one way to put it," Petra smiled warmly. 

"So I have a feeling you like him as more than just a friend or as your captain," Cecelia mused, resting her elbows on the table and placing her chin on her hands. 

"W-what? No! He's my captain! That's all, I-I can't think of him as anything more, it's unprofessional!" Petra's cheeks turned redder than the cherries on the tarts the café served as she waved her hands in defense. 

"Just because it's unprofessional doesn't make it untrue. It's written all over your face." 

Her blush deepened. "Is it _that_ obvious?" 

"It's obvious. I'm not gonna tell you 'go confess how you feel' or anything, we just met and all. I'm not one to meddle in a stranger's life. A friend yes, but not someone I just met."

Petra was still trying to recover from the embarrassment Cecelia's blunt statements caused.

"I will give you one piece of advice though: the only one who can decide if or when to tell him is you. You have to decide if you can handle the pain if your feelings go unrequited, or if you can handle the pain if it does work out, but one of you falls on the field. In my experience, the pleasure usually isn't worth the pain, but that's on you, my dear." Cecelia placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Petra simply nodded in a response. 

After the pie and the cherry tarts Hange and Nifa chose for their own squad were boxed and paid for, Cecelia bid them farewell and went back to what little work she had left to do


	3. Take a little of your love and pass it on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi shows up at the cafe again, and Cecelia's brother tries to teach her basic hand to hand!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song inspiring this one is Pass It On by youtuber Kurt Hugo Schneider. 
> 
> So yeah ch 3 is coming quicker than 2 did but chapter 4 is probably gonna take some time, havent started on it yet and I keep being a glutton for punishment and picking up extra shifts at work...so my free time went from 4 off days with one day spent socializing or supply running to 3 days with 2 spent socializing and running xD

**Chapter 3: Take a little of your love and Pass it on**

* * *

The bell by the door rang about a half hour after the previous customers left. In response, Cecelia turned with an excited smile that quickly turned into a confused frown. 

Without saying a word, Levi seated himself at the table where Eld, Gunther, and Olou usually sat whenever they came in.  _ Wasn't expecting so many members of the Corps coming today,  _ she mused to herself as she approached the table.

"Good evening, sir, what can I get for you tonight?" 

"Black tea," he said curtly without sparing a glance her way, organizing a decent sized stack of papers across the table. 

"Just one cup, or would you like a pot? Looks like you might be here for a while," she offered, gesturing to the paper stacks. 

"Get me a pot." 

"Alright! I'll go get that for you. Would you like any sweets to go with it?" 

"If I did, I would have said so," he huffed out in annoyance. 

_ Petra truly must have the patience of a saint! I could never be around someone as blunt as he is so often,  _ Cecelia thought as she went back to the counter. 

Since it was slow and she wanted something to do, Cecelia set out to make the tea herself instead of getting Maya or Talia to do it. She began singing one of the songs her mother used to sing as the tea brewed and she was inspecting and organizing the cups for the millionth time that night. As the tea finished, she carried it, along with a surprise for the captain, to the table. She was still singing. 

" _ Every story needs a group, _

_ every hug takes two, _

_ all the love you give comes back to you _

_ and every partner needs a pair,  _

_ every cake wants to be shared _

_ every smile you give goes somewhere. _

_ If there's a song in your heart, _

_ if you are dancing in the dark, _

_ if there's a smile inside then send it along _

_ take a little of your love and pass it on." _

She placed the pot in the center of the table and silently sat a small slice of carrot cake on a napkin next to him. He didn't look at her or notice the cake. He just nodded in thanks and filled the cup up with tea before returning to the papers. 

She was tempted to start reorganizing the display case once again just for something to do after quadruple checking that the tables were pristine. 

"Oi!" 

"Yes?" She went over and leaned against the neighboring table. 

"I need a second pot. And what the hell is this?" He was pointing to the cake. 

"A slice of carrot cake," she shrugged. 

"I didn't order it…and since I'm the only one here there's no way you mixed up tables." 

"I figured you might have been hungry, so I brought you a slice. On the house, of course," she smiled. 

"I'm not hungry and I don't want handouts. Just bring me another pot of tea." 

She sighed, wondering how someone could turn down a free slice of cake, but removed the empty pot and cake from the table. He stayed there drinking his tea for a long while, almost until closing. As the captain was leaving, Sean kept to his word and arrived before the end of her shift. Cecelia spent the last half hour helping Talia clean the kitchen since she had kept the dining area spotless throughout the day. After she was done, she brushed off her apron and hung it up behind the counter, then tossed her shawl back around her shoulders. 

"Ready to learn some proper defenses?" Sean asked, holding his arm out so she could link it with hers for the walk home. 

Nodding she linked their arms and said, "Lead the way!" 

"I'm glad you still have that shawl mom made for you. Surprised it still looks so nice. It's been, what, four years now?" 

"Five, and why wouldn't I? So much love went into it, how could I not keep it? It may be old and worn, but it's the last gift I received from her. What kind of daughter would I be if I didn't take care of it, or wear it?" 

The rest of their short walk to her apartment was mostly quiet. Cecelia occasionally looked up at the stars as they walked, nervous about learning how to fight. She understood why her brother wanted to teach her, but she didn't like violence and would rather talk her way out of a situation than fight with someone. 

"I'm going to change out of my dress and into some pants or something." Cecelia said as she started up the stairs. 

"Uh-uhn, not so fast! You mostly wear skirts and dresses when out, if something happens you won't have time to change." Sean gently pulled her back down the stairs, "you're learning in your dress." 

She looked down at her lilac colored dress, it was one of her favorites. "Can I at least change out of  _ this  _ dress?" 

"It's already kind of dirty from you working, and if it gets ripped you can mend it, mom taught you how to sew, knit and crochet right?" 

Letting out a small sigh she nodded and led him to the small backyard of her building. Sean got into a basic stance, twisting his body so his right side was in the back, and his left side towards the front. "Lead with your non dominant side, spread your legs about a shoulder width apart so you can maintain balance, and try to stand on the balls of your feet, standing flat on them can make you slower." 

Cecelia followed his instructions, leading with her right side. "I always forget you're a lefty," Sean smiled as he walked over to examine her stance. Nudging her feet with his, he adjusted the space between her feet. "Not bad, sis." Retaking his stance, he motioned towards himself. "Now throw a punch at me and don't hold back." 

Cecelia balled her hand to a fist, closed her eyes and swung full force, completely missing her brother. He sighed. "Lesson number two is don't close your eyes. Do it again but don't close your eyes this time!" 

She reeled back and swung once more, actually connecting. "Owwww! I thought punching someone was supposed to hurt the other person, not me!" Cecelia whined, shaking her hand out and then rubbing it. 

"Show me how you made your fist and I can probably make it hurt less." Sean shook his head and she thought she heard him mutter about having a long way to go. She made her hand up into a fist one more time. "Ah, yeah don't put your thumb on the inside, one way ticket to breaking it, show me your punch." He held up his hands for her to use as punching bags. 

Adjusting her hand so she had her thumb outside her fist, she swung at him in a vertical motion. "The hammer fist technique doesn't really help unless you're in a grapple, which we are not. Punch straight ahead." She punched him straight on and again hurt her hand. "Try to get your knuckles to connect, not your fingers and twist into it." She tried once more. "I told you to hit me with your full force." 

"I did!" Cecelia yelled at him.

"Really? Then I'm making a workout routine for you or something so you can build up your core and arm muscles. I figured carrying all those trays would give you some oomph but I guess I was wrong. It's a good thing I have most of the winter months free to try to teach you." 

"I mean I could just do my original strategy, run and yell for help." Cecelia shrugged. 

"And what if while running you trip and they catch up, or they're faster than you and without your clumsiness they catch up and do this." He grabbed her from behind one arm around her throat the other around her waist. "How are you gonna run and scream for help like this? If they tighten around your throat or cover your mouth you won't be loud enough to draw anyone's attention." 

Cecelia simply squirmed in her brother's grasp trying to escape but all her attempts were futile.

She kicked her leg back into his shin and he let go. "Okay now that had some force to it. Stomping down on their foot would have also been a good way out. If they're only slightly taller than you then forcing your head back for a head butt could have also worked, same with a well placed elbow to the rib cage." 

The training continued and went as expected, it seemed to be going nowhere fast. Either she wasn't strong enough to do damage, or Sean was simply too strong for her to take on. Letting out a defeated sigh, she asked if they could stop for the night. 

"I'm hungry, gross, and tired. I'm not a soldier like you, Sean!" she panted, worn out from the training. 

"Fair enough. Can you do one more thing before we call it quits for the night?" 

Her irritation was written all over her face. "What now? Haven't we established that I'm awful at this kind of stuff?" 

"Just humor me, I'm not dropping this until you grasp at least the basics." 

She took a deep breath and puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "Fine what's the ‘one more thing,’ and is there going to be another 'one more thing' after it?" 

"Do, like, five push ups for me so I can see your form - it helps build up muscles needed to throw a decent punch. I'm not leaving until I know you can do it properly,” he said before adding a quick, “I promise this is the last thing." 

Sighing she got on the ground, supporting her body with her arms, legs extended behind her. Lowering herself all the way down and back up. 

"One," Sean started counting as she continued, then she did another. "One…one…come on Celia you have to go all the way down and back up. You keep going up before going  _ all _ the way down." 

"You're...a pain… in the ass," she huffed out after finally getting to his version of five push ups. 

"I need to make sure you're doing it right," he shrugged. "Not my fault that you ended up doing ten extra push ups 'cause your form was off." 

"I am going upstairs, eating, getting cleaned up, and going to bed. Goodnight, Sean!" 

"One more thing!" 

If looks could kill, the daggers Cecelia shot him would have completely cut him to ribbons. "You promised that would be the last thing!" 

"This last 'one more thing' is something easy," he pulled her into a tight hug. "Please remember to lock your doors and windows. I don't like that you live alone and don't know how to defend yourself. At least give me the peace of mind to do that?" 

She nodded after the hug ended and bid him farewell. "When am I going to see you again? Will it be before…"

Sean cut her off "I have no idea. Hange keeps me busy, so I can't be sure if it will be before then, but I'll definitely see you in a couple of weeks."

"Hey, don't die out there, or in here. Hange went into detail about all the experiments and now I'm worried for your safety inside as well as outside the walls."

"I'll stay as safe as I can be, sis." After one final hug he started making his way back home. 

She went inside and looked at her apartment. It was simple. A small living area and kitchen in the front room, a bathroom off to the left and her bedroom to the right. It wasn't much but it was hers. She took a quick shower and made some food while her hair was drying. She made a cup of chamomile tea, grabbed a book from the shelf and plopped down on her bed to wind down for the night. Halfway through her tea, she dozed off with the book open on her lap and the tea growing cold on her end table. 


	4. I'm out on my own, I'm so scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecelia goes about her usual off day routines but something goes wrong (Non-con/ rape warnings just a heads up)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said last chapter, been working too much for my own good (bout 100+ hours per 2 week period) so not much time to write or do anything, also been crocheting and had family in from out of state. But here is chapter 4!

* * *

Chapter 4:I'm out on my own, I'm so scared

* * *

The sounds of birds chirping and little rays of sunlight, accompanied by a slight breeze coming in through the window, was what greeted Cecelia as she woke. She stretched and groaned, stiff from the position she slept in. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she swung her legs off the side of her bed, causing the book on her lap to fall to the floor with a thud. 

She was sore from the training session the night before. Every joint and muscle in her body was screaming just from standing up. Thankful that Sean did it on a night before one of her days off, she threw on a clean dress and then made her way to the bathroom to start her morning routine. 

Splashing water on her face to try to wake herself up fully, Cecelia noticed how wild her hair looked. Taking some water to try to tame the curled locks, she smoothed her hair and began brushing the knots and tangles out. After playing with it for what felt like forever, she was finally satisfied with how it fell and tied half of it up with a light blue ribbon to match the dress she chose. 

She left the bathroom and looked around her home in search of ways to spend her day off. Her eyes drifted around the living room. She considered spending the day designing and making something with the fabrics and yarn. The better part of the morning was spent working on a small teddy bear and, upon completing it, she realized that she didn’t have the right colored materials for the outfit she had planned to make. “Sorry little friend, you’re going to have to go naked until I get more materials,” she chuckled as she placed the bear on a shelf above her craft station. 

Her stomach grumbled and she took that as a cue to make breakfast. Raiding her cupboards, she settled on some eggs and potatoes. After she started those up, she reached for the case that held her black tea leaves. She couldn’t quite reach and was too lazy to grab the step stool so she jumped to grab it, which caused it to fall and spill all over the floor. “Yeah, that’s about my luck,” she sighed as she cleaned up the mess. Luckily there was enough left in the case for one cup of tea to go with her breakfast. 

As she cleaned the dishes, she stared out the window and admired her garden. She entertained the thought of arranging some of the flowers, but realized they would wilt before she would use them. She went out and tended to her flowers, which didn’t take too long since it was a fairly small garden. When she returned inside, she glanced around her living room to find something else to do. Spotting her bookshelf, she decided that she had read all of her books far too many times, so that option wasn’t great for keeping her occupied for the remainder of the day. 

A large ray of sunlight shone in through one of the windows and landed on her violin. Cecelia smiled and took that as a sign to compose some music. She searched her bookshelf for where she kept her blank paper. “I could have sworn they were here,” she grumbled to herself, searching all of the shelves and sighing in defeat when she couldn’t find any blank pages. She never composed songs without having a way to write them down.

“Looks like I’m going shopping then,” she sighed to herself and returned to her bedroom to hunt down a shawl that matched her dress. She wrapped the blue and white shawl she made years ago around her shoulders. It wasn’t perfect, but it was her first successful attempt at making something after her mother taught her crochet, so it had a good bit of sentimental value. 

Slipping her shoes on and grabbing a basket, she bounded down the stairs humming to herself. It was a bit of a walk to the shops, but thankfully it was one of those autumn days that leaned more on the warmer side. She smiled as she took in the wonderful sights and scents of autumn. Her steps on the cobblestone were like a metronome keeping time as she hummed her way through the town. 

Finally reaching the market, she noted it was busier than it usually was on a Tuesday afternoon. Weaving her way through the crowd, she made it to the stall with fabrics. “Ah, Cecelia, always a pleasure. Anything specific today, or just one of your spur of the moment trips?” A stout, balding man smiled from behind his mustache. Marcus had been a good family friend since as long as she could remember, he was a very sociable and honest merchant and one of her mother’s closest friends. 

“Good afternoon Marcus, I need some dark green, gray, white, and blue fabric.” The man nodded in response and grabbed varying shades of the requested colors. She selected the shades she wanted and noticed some lilac colored ribbon bunched up on the back table. “How much for that lilac ribbon?”

“What lila- oh you mean that? It’s just some leftover scraps from my daughter’s projects,” he chuckled. “I’m sure she’s through with it, plus it’s not enough to do much with, so I’ll throw it in with the rest of your things free of charge.” 

“Are you sure? I made some good tips this week, so I don’t mind paying for it.” 

“You’re one of my best customers, I insist!” he laughed as he helped her load the materials into her basket. As he was tallying the total, he asked his usual questions. “What are you working on this time, my dear? Seems like pretty specific colors.”

“I made a small bear and the poor dear needs an outfit. Given the time of year, I’m sure you could put two and two together to make four.” She gave a sad smile and paid him what she owed. 

“Ah say no more. Remember to take care of yourself, dunno what I’d do without one of my best customers.” 

Cecelia bid Marcus farewell with a small smile and a wave. The bolts of fabric were a bit awkward to carry, even in the basket, so she was kicking herself for picking them up first rather than last. Her next stop was to get some parchment so she could write down her compositions.

After buying the parchment, she made her way to the tea stall. She never understood why it was so much farther away from all the other stalls. Trying to avoid the throng of people, she attempted to side step around someone, only to end up running into another person entirely. “Oi, ya bitch, watch where yer going,” a very angry and quite possibly drunk looking gentlemen growled. The man was possibly in his mid thirties and towered over her by at least a foot, his dark brown hair disheveled. The collision caused her to fall to the ground and spill the contents of her basket. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just so crowded,” she apologized as she cleaned up her things. 

He eyed her from head to toe. “I suppose I can’t be too mad having such a beautiful woman crash into me. So love, how about ya let me show you a good time.” 

“Thank you for the offer sir, but no I need to finish my shopping and get back home.” She finished gathering her things and kept making her way to the tea stall. 

Her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled back, “I wasn’t asking. C'mon love, you know you want me to give you a good time.” 

“Sir could you please let go? I really have to go,” she asked as she tried to pull away. The man tightened his grip, and the crowded market place suddenly seemed very empty. He dragged her into a nearby alley and, as panic filled every ounce of her being, she shouted for help. Maybe she should have taken Sean’s training more seriously. He pinned her against the brick wall forcefully and she let out a terrified whimper. “P-please…just let me go.” 

“You’re even cuter when you’re scared,” the man whispered with a smirk, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. 

She tried to bring her knee up to his crotch so she could try to escape, but he blocked it with one of his hands. “Oh-ho, ain’t you a feisty one.” Her heart was beating so fast from fear. 

She let out another cry for help, silently praying someone would come save her. 

“Ya think someone is gonna hear and come save you? That’s funny.” He tore the shawl from her shoulders, and took another good look at her. “Ain’t you a waitress from that one Café, ah what was it, Hidden Heaven, or some shit?” She whimpered and attempted to scream for help once more, only to get cut off by the man’s filthy hand covering her mouth. “That’s enough screaming, girlie, you’re gonna give me a headache.” 

Making a fist with her now free hand she threw a punch and connected with the man’s face, causing him to stumble back in surprise. She took the opportunity to successfully knee him in the crotch and run back towards the market before he recovered. She just about made it out of the alley, but the drunkard recovered quicker than she thought he would and once again had a hold of her dragging her back into the secluded alley and threw her on the ground. Her head cracked against the cobblestone so hard she saw white spots for a moment.

Tears streamed down her face in fear as she screamed for help once more. “No more games,” he growled as he straddled her and pinned both her hands above her head with only one of his. With his other hand, he unsheathed a knife and ran it down the side of her face and down to her chest preparing to cut the fabric of her dress off.

She let out a frightened whimper and tried to think of any way out of this situation. As he sliced the fabric of the dress she begged him to stop, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Get off of her you pig!" A voice yelled down the alley. The man's hazel eyes lit up for a second.

"Another kitten wants to play? Sorry love you're gonna have to wait your turn," he let out a chuckle. The man was pulled off of her and thrown to the ground. Cecelia took the opportunity to scurry to one of the walls and lean against it, letting out shaky breaths. She looked to see who her savior was, a strawberry blonde in a scout uniform.

"In what world do you think this behavior is acceptable?" She scolded and kicked him to the ground as he tried to get up. 

"I see no problem in a man taking what he deserves." He made another attempt to get up which resulted in another, harder kick from Petra. She put her foot on his neck and he let out a growl. 

Cecelia's vision blurred a bit and her ears were ringing, she was struggling to keep focused on anything. She tried to sit up a bit more, which resulted in her vomiting. She leaned against the cool brick wall and everything went black. 

"Celia? Celia can you hear me?" A concerned voice called. Cecelia opened her eyes and looked around. She seemed to be in an infirmary. Blinking, trying to make sense of what happened, she saw Petra sitting in a chair to her left. 

"What happened?" Cecelia reached a hand up to her head and felt bandages. 

"She's awake?" Another voice called from behind a curtain. Hange came over with a glass of water. "What do you remember, kiddo?" 

Accepting the glass and taking a large drink she tried to remember. "I...uh...I was shopping...then…" she shuddered as she remembered her encounter. Petra gently stroked her hand. "I bumped into a man and...he pulled me into a nearby alley. I tried to defend myself but he...he…" She started crying, reliving the fear. 

"You're safe now Cecelia." Petra soothed, pulling her into a hug and stroking her hair. "He's currently in Garrison custody. He can't hurt you or anyone else."

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." Cecelia leaned her head on Petra's shoulder and cried as she returned the hug. 

"You're lucky Petra heard you," a third voice muttered. Turning she saw Sean bringing some medical equipment in placing it on the table with a little more force than necessary. "This just reinforces why I wanted to teach you self defence. What's the diagnosis, Hange?"

"She's got a mild concussion and a decent gash on her head but other than that she seems fine." 

"Where am I?" Cecelia asked the trio, confused why Hange and Sean were there. 

"The Scouting HQ in Wall Rose." Petra explained, "it was closer than the hospital and I wanted to get you checked out sooner rather than later, so I brought you here." 

Cecelia finished the glass of water. "Am I good to go home? I just want to go home and try to forget about everything."

"I see no reason to keep you, just try to take it easy," Hange smiled. 

"I'm going with you to make sure you get home okay though," Sean interjected, placing a hand on Cecelia's shoulder causing her to flinch away. Sean frowned at the reaction his sister gave.

Petra stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I get that you want to make sure she's safe, but she might be uncomfortable around a man right now, brother or otherwise." 

Sean clenched his teeth and gave a small nod. 

"Sean, I'm sorry, I've just been through a lot today." Cecelia cried a little more," I know you'd never do anything to hurt me, but Petra is right I'm a little uneasy towards men at the moment." 

Sean left the room without another word. Petra picked up the basket of Cecelia's purchases and gave another small smile. "Are you ready?" 

Nodding Cecelia stood up, "Hange, can you make sure he's okay, and doesn't go and do anything crazy?" 

Hange hugged her, "will do, kiddo. Now go home and get some rest." 


End file.
